Understanding Viral Social Media Content for Your Restaurant Marketing Strategy
Creating viral social media content gives your business a great boost. However, it is easier said than done. It requires careful planning of your restaurant marketing strategy which is something we can help you with.
Viral content is somewhat of a unicorn. It is not a common nor continuous achievement for businesses. Brands and restaurants using social media successfully generally have a strong and steady performance but their viral content remains an outlier.
So, what can viral marketing campaigns do for your business and how can it be adopted into a restaurant marketing strategy? Here is what you need to know about viral social media content for the restaurant business.
There is no exact number of shares or cut off time for viral posts. It also depends on the specific platform and target market.
What Is Viral Social Media Content?
Viral social media content is a social media post that is shared by a large number of social media accounts within a short time span. The number of times it is shared and the short period of time are the key elements here.
For example, on Youtube a video might be called viral if it has been seen over 1 million times within 1 week. On Instagram, a post could be considered viral when it reaches over 100,000 likes and several thousand shares and comments.
Why You Should Aim to Go Viral
Adopting shareable social media posts into your restaurant marketing strategy has great potential for your business. Essentially, it is the modern day form of lead generation.
Viral social media content can mean several positive things for a restaurant. First of all, it puts your business on the map and helps you reach a new audience. This audience are potentially new customers so it also expands your target market.
The obvious advantage of more customers is greater revenue but there is more to it. The new customers are also more likely to share their own experience at the restaurant because they want to show they are part of the trend.
Expect many more tagged posts on the restaurant’s social media accounts. This gives a boost to your social media presence. The user-generated content is also a great source for your next posts.
A viral social media post creates engagement between your venue and the audience. Users that shared it will feel a greater connection with your brand. This in turn builds a more loyal following and customer base.
The Key Elements in a Viral Restaurant Marketing Strategy
Although going viral is a goal for many establishments, planning out the perfect restaurant marketing strategy for it is not so straightforward. It is difficult to determine which specific social media marketing campaign will go viral.
However, a Buzzsumo study has identified the 4 key elements that greatly improve the potential for viral social media content. Choosing the right format for these features instantly makes the post more shareable.
The 4 elements are:
- An emotional reaction
- The type of content
- The topic
- The content format
An emotional reaction entails drawing out a certain feeling when the post is seen. This is why many successful social media campaigns use humor to make people laugh. Viral social media content can also be inspirational, surprising or touching.
The most shareable type of content is usually a visual, either a photo, video or chart. On the other hand, a memorable quote could also work. This is why using the appropriate hashtags is so important.
A smart restaurant marketing strategy uses a topic that is related to the restaurant itself but also links to a current trend. You don’t need a direct link between the restaurant and the trend but the trend should resonate with your target audience.
The content format refers to the structure of the post. For many social media posts the format is already predetermined. However, you could also create a viral blog post which can take up many more formats. Listicles are a tried and true format but quizzes and interesting research insights are also popular.
Ideas for Creating Viral Content for Your Restaurant
The best restaurant social media campaigns keep in mind the 4 key elements identified by Buzzsumo. This creates the greatest potential for viral social media content.
Here are a few ideas as inspiration for designing highly shareable social media content for your restaurant.
1. Start a Competition or Challenge
Social media competitions and challenges are a great way to improve follower engagement. It is a Call to Action with a clear incentive for the social media user.
Make sure that the part of the challenge or competition is to share their participation. This instantly widens the reach of your social media campaign.
2. Tell a Heart Warming Story
The best performing Instagram posts are photos of people. People like to see people and hear their stories. Just think of the success of Humans of New York.
Have your audience get to know your staff better. Does anyone have an inspirational story worth sharing? Share it on your social media and invite your target market to share their stories with you.
3. Use a Pet Mascot
Pets, specifically cats and dogs, perform very well in viral social media content. Many people are pet lovers so it is a great way to find common ground with your target market. Think of how recognizable the Taco Bell Chihuahua is.
Adopting a pet mascot as part of your restaurant marketing strategy is a great source for driving engagement. It sparks a warm emotional reaction, can be humorous and fits into many different formats and content type.
Creating viral social media content is not as simple as the kids make it seem. But don’t worry, our team at Prospekt Digital can help you create a strong restaurant marketing strategy that boosts your social media presence and lead generation.
We will work closely with you to develop a state-of the-art website that is designed to convert your visitors.
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